Monday, November 22, 2010

Do you remember the first time you tasted kale? I do. It was just 3 years ago. I'd felt "adventurous" at the farmers market, but had no idea what to do with my new bag of strangely sturdy greens once I got home. Flipping through a favorite Italian cookbook, a rustic dish with soft onions and creamy white beans caught my eye...then wooed my taste buds. I've adored kale ever since.

That first dish has been made over and over again (and I promise to share the recipe later). But this nutritional powerhouse deserved to be more than a one-trick pony. For my latest kale-scapade, I settled on an intriguing ricotta, winter greens, and egg phyllo pie. Turned out a bit messy, as you can see 8), but full of lovely, well-balanced flavors. The bitterness of the kale mellowed by the slight sweetness of sauteed leeks and creamy cheeses and eggs. The only change I might make next time is to use puff pastry instead of phyllo to get this on the table faster.

So tell me, dear readers, do you enjoy winter greens? If so, what should I add to my currently limited repertoire?

P.S. - I've gotten behind on stopping by your blogs in the last week due to exams. Sorry 'bout that and I promise to catch up soon!

XIAOLU'S NOTES: I think the extra flakes on top of my pie come from using old and thus drier phyllo pastry, so use a fresh batch for a neat presentation. I adjusted the recipe below to fully cook the eggs. Feel free to substitute swiss chard for half or all of the kale. But you'll need slightly less swiss chard, since it has smaller stems than kale.

Cook eggs in a pot of boiling water for 7 minutes. Then drain, cool in ice water, then peel and set aside.

Coarsely chop leaves of greens, steam for 6 to 8 minutes or until wilted, transfer to a colander to cool, then squeeze to remove excess water (It's important to squeeze hard!).

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, add leek and garlic and cook for 5-6 minutes or until very soft. Transfer to a food processor, add greens, and process until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl, then add cheeses, scallions, olives, and oregano. Mix well and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place an 8-inch springform or other cake pan on a cookie sheet, brush the inside of the pan with butter, line with a piece of phyllo, allowing excess to overhang, brush with butter and top with phyllo. Repeat with remaining phyllo and butter, finishing with phyllo.

Spoon 2/3 of ricotta mixture into the phyllo-lined pan, smooth surface, then create 6 wells for the eggs around edges, using a spoon. Place eggs in wells, then spoon over remaining ricotta mixture, smoothing top. Fold overhanging pastry inward, brushing with butter between each layer and pleating as you go. Brush top with butter and bake for 40 minutes or until golden.

Working with phyllo pastry just scares me so I'd probably make this with puff pastry instead ;) Looks delish though....one of the pies I've had on my to-do list for the longest time is Spanakopita, but that means overcoming my fear of phyllo!

My favorite winter vegetable has to be brussels sprouts, pan-fried with a heaping spoonful of rendered pork fat and slightly caramelized. Simple and so good.

I've sort of been stuck on one-trick with kale myself - just giving it a quick saute in a little olive oil, garlic, sea salt, and some chili flakes. I love the sound of the pie: I adore phyllo dough, and kale, and eggs, and ricotta. Combining it all in a dish sounds exquisite!

This sounds amazing, but alas! I don't think I can find kale here. It's weird, because I remember eating kale all the time when I was a kid in the 90s, but honestly, I haven't seen kale in a good 10 years. Not at the supermarket, not at farmers' markets, nowhere. I think I need to do a bit of research into what happened... I need answers!

I had the same experience with kale. I only tried it a couple of years ago, and really took a shine to it. How did we miss it all those years? I would be really happy to dig into a pie like this. Looks so delicate and lovely.

beautiful quiche, I love kale and try to squeeze them wherever I can...a perfect treat for a sunday brunch, no doubt would go over very well with my family, thanks for stopping by..you have a goregous blog!!sweetlife

This may be totally not what you're looking for but I make smoothies with raw dinosaur kale that my toddler even drinks. Dinosaur kale is really mild and not bitter like your other varieties of kale. It has nothing to do with fall, its a everyday drink. And I agree puff pastry will do marvelously.

Your photography is stunning, it tells a story and not just a photo. Nicely done!

Ooo I've looked at that nonna's italian cookbook before and wondered how it was. I have an Italian vegetarian cookbook but haven't used it much. This pie looks so yummy and hearty! I usually just saute greens with lots of garlic mm.